easy fruit fly trap

Given that people here might be working with fall's fresh fruit, here's an excellent way to keep the kitchen fruit fly population down. I learned this from my brother, who works in a research lab where escaped fruit flies are always a problem. *Fruit Fly Trap* Materials: 1 glass jar, 1 piece of paper and a piece of tape, a little *cider* vinegar (not white vinegar), a couple of drops liquid soap or detergent. Procedure: Tape the paper together to make a funnel shape that will rest inside the mouth of the jar, but have a fairly broad opening. Put cider vinegar in the bottom of the jar (¼ inch or ½ cm or so). Add a couple of drops of detergent to the vingar. Place the paper funnel on the jar. Set on the kitchen counter near the fruit. How it works: Flies are attracted to the cider vinegar, which they interpret as decaying fruit. They go into the jar (the funnel makes entry easier than exit) and either fall onto or land on the surface of the liquid. The detergent decreases the normal surface tension, so they sink and drown. Easy and cheap, and no zaps! We tested this last fall at our parents' house when the apple crop came in. A single trap caught >100 flies in 2 days. From Usenet Post by Diana